Has MH370 been found? Where is MH370? Many questions surrounding the mysterious disappearance of this plane remain unanswered. To this day, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 people remains one of the world's greatest aviation mysteries.
The Boeing 777 went missing en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014. On board were more than 150 Chinese and 50 Malaysian passengers, along with citizens of France, Australia, Indonesia, India, the United States, Ukraine and Canada, among other countries.
Analysis of satellite data suggests the plane likely crashed somewhere in the southern Indian Ocean off the coast of Western Australia, but two major searches have failed to yield any significant results.
A new search for missing MH370 will begin on December 30, 2025.
What is known so far from the search for flight MH370?
The last transmission from MH370 was about 40 minutes after takeoff from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Captain Zaharie Ahmad Shah ended the call with " Good night, Malaysia three seven zero " as the plane entered Vietnamese airspace.
Soon after, the plane's transponder was turned off, meaning it could not be easily tracked.
Military radar showed the plane left its flight path and flew back north over Malaysia and Penang Island, then out into the Andaman Sea towards the tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. It then turned south and lost contact completely.
Results from underwater searches for MH370
Malaysia, Australia and China launched an underwater search of a 120,000-square-kilometer (46,332-square-mile) area in the southern Indian Ocean, based on automated data links between Inmarsat satellites and the plane. The search, which cost about A$200 million (US$131.54 million), was called off after two years in January 2017 after finding no trace of the plane.
In 2018, Malaysia accepted a " no find, no fee " offer from US exploration firm Ocean Infinity for a three-month search, meaning the company would only be paid if it found the plane. That search covered an area of 112,000 square kilometers (43,243 square miles) north of the original target area and also turned up no results. It was then ended in May 2018.
Remains of MH370
More than 30 pieces of suspected aircraft debris have been collected along the African coast and on islands in the Indian Ocean, but only three wing fragments have been confirmed as coming from MH370. Most of the debris is being used for drift modelling in the hope of narrowing down the plane's likely location.
Investigation report
A 495-page report into the disappearance of MH370, released in July 2018, said the Boeing 777's control systems may have been deliberately manipulated to send the plane off course, but investigators were unable to determine who was responsible.
The report also highlighted failures by air traffic control centers in Kuala Lumpur and Ho Chi Minh City, and made recommendations to avoid a repeat incident.
Investigators have yet to reach any conclusions about what happened to MH370. They say it depends on whether the wreckage is found.
Conspiracy theory
The failure to locate the MH370 crash site has sparked a host of conspiracy theories, from mechanical failure or remote-controlled accident, to more outlandish explanations such as alien abduction or a Russian plot.
In recent years, some aviation experts have argued that the most likely explanation is that the plane was deliberately flown off course by an experienced pilot. However, investigators have said there was nothing suspicious about the backgrounds, finances, training or mental health of either the captain or co-pilot.
Restart the search for missing plane MH370
In December 2024, the Malaysian government announced it would resume the search for the plane after a new offer from Ocean Infinity, which would have paid the company $70 million if it found the wreckage. The search began in March this year but was suspended after several weeks due to bad weather.
The new search, which will begin on December 30, will be under the same terms and conditions agreed by Malaysia and Ocean Infinity in 2024. The search for MH370 will be conducted over a 15,000 square kilometer (5,790 square mile) area in the southern Indian Ocean. The exact location has not been announced.
Malaysia's Transport Ministry said Ocean Infinity had confirmed it would continue its 55-day seabed search operations, which would be carried out intermittently, adding that the resumed search would take place in " target areas assessed as having the highest probability of finding the aircraft ".